Former Monroe star McGhee transferring to Western KY

Former Monroe basketball standout Jabari McGhee will be playing at Western Kentucky next season.

The 6'7 forward tells WALB he will transfer to WKU.

"It fit me," McGhee told WALB over the phone Thursday.

McGhee spent a season and a half at Tennessee, where he played only 14 games after battling a foot injury during his freshman year.

The former Tornado star will have two and a half seasons of eligibility with the Hilltoppers, and can begin play with the team in December 2016.

"I already knew WKU was where I wanted to be. I looked around, but that was my target," he says. McGhee will join the team with fellow Vol transfer Willie Carmichael and assistant coach Chris Shumate, who was also at UT last year.

"We are really excited to add another player of Jabari’s caliber, who is a great athlete and a high-energy, high-motor guy," says WKU head coach Ray Harper in a statement. "He is a guy with high-level Division I experience, and we recruited him coming out of prep school. We have known him for a long time, and we are excited to finally have him at home in our program."

McGhee says he left Tennessee because he needed a change of atmosphere.

"I picked the right school out of Hargrave [Military]," he says. "But after the coaching change and a bunch of players leaving, it just didn't feel like the school I committed to."

McGhee averaged 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game during his time in Knoxville.